{"id":56230,"date":"2025-07-06T22:05:54","date_gmt":"2025-07-07T01:05:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelaker.ca\/?p=56230"},"modified":"2025-07-06T22:05:54","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T01:05:54","slug":"beaver-bank-girl-wins-award-silver-medal-for-project-at-canada-wide-science-fair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/?p=56230","title":{"rendered":"Beaver Bank girl wins award, silver medal for project at Canada-Wide Science Fair"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"alignnormal\">[metaslider id=&#8221;56506&#8243;]<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>BEAVER BANK: <\/strong>Two years ago, Avalon Lively knew nothing about science fairs, let alone conduct her own independent research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAll I had was a passion for the environment, so I pretty much went from there,\u201d said the Beaver Bank girl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAttending the Canada-Wide Science Fair two years in a row was a big achievement for me, so I was excited to have placed at the national competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt&#8217;s a huge accomplishment because these are the best projects in the country and I was surrounded by so many bright individuals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lively, a Lockview High student, took home a silver form the Canada-Wide Science Fair, held in Fredericton, and was awarded the prestigious Beauty Centre for Species Discovery award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ADVERTISEMENT:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"alignnormal\">[metaslider id=&#8221;56526&#8243;]<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"alignnormal\">[metaslider id=&#8221;56179&#8243;]<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Lively said she is honoured to be the senior recipient of the Beauty Centre for Species Discovery Award,&nbsp;since there were so many other fascinating projects that had also been nominated for this award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBeing selected out of all these amazing senior finalists was extremely validating to all of the dedication and effort that I&#8217;ve put into my projects,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt means a lot to me because I care deeply about the issues that I&#8217;m researching, and I never thought that my work would be able to reach so many people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1000026179-771x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-56544\" style=\"width:553px;height:auto\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(Submitted photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Lively is researching mycorrhizal fungi, which are fungi that are known to assist in tree growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe goal of my project is to see if they can be used as an eco-friendlier alternative to our current forest management practices, such as herbicides,\u201d said Lively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBased on my results, my theories are quite promising and should be considered by other researchers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She said she presented a similar project last year at the Canada-Wide Science Fair, but this year she really expanded on her original ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBesides a lot of improvements and changes, I got to work with Dr. Gavin Kernaghan of Mount Saint Vincent University\u2019s <em>Atlantic Root Symbiosis Lab<\/em>. He gave me insightful feedback and showed me how to look at the fungi under the microscope,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOverall, my project was incredibly involved and time-consuming but also rewarding because I&#8217;m super enthusiastic about it. I worked on it almost non-stop since last summer and I&#8217;ve dedicated at least 150 hours to my research.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ADVERTISEMENT:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"alignnormal\">[metaslider id=&#8221;56501&#8243;]<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Lively said, getting such recognition for all her hard work really makes her feel both seen and valued by the scientific community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen I first started this project, I found it intimidating to present my findings to professionals in my field of research,\u201d she said. \u201cI thought that my work would be seen as less than because I&#8217;m only in high school. However, succeeding with my projects has proven to me that my research is just as important as anyone else&#8217;s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt&#8217;s inspired me to continue exploring different ideas and striving to make our world a better place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 17-year-old Lively, a Grade 11 student, said Lockview High currently doesn&#8217;t hold a science fair, so she\u2019s been competing fully independently for the past two years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She said it is for this reason there wasn&#8217;t much response from the school about her project or awards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt&#8217;s unfortunate because the Canada-Wide Science Fair is such a wonderful experience and I wish that they&#8217;d encourage more students to investigate the problems that matter to them,\u201d said Lively.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full has-lightbox\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jerryandannettemurphy.ca\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/KW-Realty-Biz-card-300-x-200.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-55793\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full has-lightbox\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.junk-works.ca\/locations\/halifax\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/JunkWorks-Inline-ad.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-55785\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BEAVER BANK: Two years ago, Avalon Lively knew nothing about science fairs, let alone conduct her own independent research. \u201cAll I had was a passion for the environment, so I pretty much went from there,\u201d said the Beaver Bank girl. \u201cAttending the Canada-Wide Science Fair two years in a row was a big achievement for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":56545,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,957],"tags":[8681,10,8682,3217,50,5],"class_list":["post-56230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-news","tag-avalon-lively","tag-beaver-bank","tag-canada-science-fair","tag-fredericton","tag-halifax","tag-lockview-high"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=56230"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56230\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/56545"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=56230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=56230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=56230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}